MACON, Ga. — An Oregon man and sexual predator who escaped from a prison work detail nearly 30 years ago was captured at a Macon apartment on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
They say Steven Craig Johnson, 70, was arrested at an apartment on Vineville Avenue after spending decades on the run. They say he was also known as William Cox.
According to a flier, the Oregon Department of Corrections described Johnson as a pedophile with "a high probability of victimizing pre-teen boys" based on his previous charges.
Back on Nov. 29, 1994, they say Johnson was working on a prison work detail when he made a break for it. He was in custody at the Mill Creek Correctional Facility in Salem, Oregon, which has since been closed.
According to the U.S. Marshals, Johnsons had stolen a dead child's identity to build a new life on the run. They say he was able to obtain the child's birth certificate and was eventually able to get a Social Security number in 1995.
Then, in 1998, Johnson received a Georgia Driver's License, the release said.
In 2015, the U.S. Marshals were brought into the case at the request of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
But in 2024, new technology utilized by the Diplomatic Security Service helped authorities find Johnson. He was ultimately arrested at the Clisby Towers at 2087 Vineville Avenue with assistance from a wide range of law enforcement agencies, the release said.
He was booked into the Bibb County Jail awaiting extradition back to Oregon.